The CARF-Models Mephisto is an innovative approach to a new aerobatic sport jet. We took quite some time to engineer a high end sport jet with great classic aerobatic capabilities as well as unbeatable 3D performance, all in an impressive size without creating difficult transportation and storage issues. That was a diabolic challenge for us, but we think we accomplished the task.

 Fuselage

The fuselage might be the most innovative component of the Mephisto. It's a 3-part design, where the front part is split along the center and the top half is a completely removable hatch. Then the rear part connects with 4 pins and 3 simple bolts easily and quickly to the front assembly. The full length hatch is held with 10 factory-installed hooks and one single bolt in the nose and allows immediate access to ANY equipment installed in the plane, from the batteries in the nose to the engine at the rear end.

The rear part of the fuselage has the vector thrust tube and all required servos permanently installed. When connecting the rear fuselage to the front, the engine duct automatically connects and closes as well. Only a single electrical connecter needs to plug in.

 The air intake system is fully ducted for perfect aerodynamics, so that 100% of the engine's thrust is available with no loss due to less than perfect ducting. 

Flying and Control Surfaces

For CARF it was mandatory for this new large Sport Jet to have a 3-piece wing. How easy would transportation and field assembly be, if the center wing, containing all landing gear, could be permantently remain on the front fuselage, creating one easy-to-transport unit with gear retracted or extended. it would fit in any small station wagon and handle so easily. The challenge comes with the flaps, as they would have to be too far outwards or two part surfaces per side. Not so with the Mephisto, which has a completely removable flap, interlocking with the servo control arm and a solid outer bearing. When sliding the outer wing on to the carbon wing tube studs, simply the huge one-piece flaps get integrated and automatcially hooked up on both sides. 

The fin is large for good stability and great knife edge performance, and the rudder is center hinged properly and symmetrically as it should be. It's the only way to have symmetric peformance and sufficient deflection for fast and slow flight. 

The horizontal stab is again a very innovative design, as it is set up as full flying stab, like many scale jets have. But what makes the huge difference is that the stab can be used in aileron mode as well. Especially for slow flight and all sorts of 3D maneuvers a Taileron like flying stab will will give the pilot extreme control and maneuverability. Of course, regular ailerons on the outer wing panels will support the taileron function and support roll authority especially in the faster aerobatics. 

Propulsion & Fuel System

Fully ducted airflow utlizes every gram of available engine thrust for a very dynamic flying style. The engine (220 - 300N thrust range) is installed at the end of the front fuselage, accessible both via the large fuselage hatch and from the bottom via the removable center wing. The exhaust nozzle protrudes into the thrust tube entry cone installed in the rear fuselage, smoke injectors are immediately accessible as well. 

The fuel tanks are 2x 3.6l saddle tanks low in the fuselage for low CG, of course also in the CG area so that the fill grade will not change the flying characteristics. A quickly removable smoke tank mount houses smoke tank and smoke pump. This assembly can be removed if weight is to be saved and no smoke is needed. 

Landing Gear

The retract setup is also quite unique, because all 3 gear legs retract forward. Very small gear openings, make the use of gear doors almost obsolete. We still installed gear doors because they are so simple in that setup that it would be wrong to omit them completely. The very special feature is that the gear, when retracted, still has 1/3rd of the wheel exposed and the front fuselage / center wing assembly is sitting on its wheels even with the gear retracted. This makes not only the handling, storage and transportation of this main component so easy, it also allows to land with retracted landing gear (e.g. due to a malfuction) without putting a scratch to the plane. Who knows what it could be good for when flying in 3D-mode low to the ground... The Mephisto's electric retracts are built by ELECTRON especially for this airplane, utilizing a gear door sequencer and even a Gyro for the nose wheel.

Flight Characteristics

Only the pilot is the limit of what the Mephisto can do. Fast and precise aerobatics are as possible as slow 3D stuff. A few "gimmicks" such as a T-cannelizer borrowed from the serious F3A pattern ships, as well as long horizontal straks in front of the stab, make the plane track in any attitude, upright, inverted or in knife edge, slow and fast, like never seen before. The 3D vector tube allows all kind of harriers, hovers, show rolls, waterfalls, what until now only could be performed with light weight aerobatic planes or with especially designed 3D Delta Jets - the Mephisto features the best from both worlds. Pattern precision and 3D extreme. A plane like no other. The diabolic CARF-Models Mephisto.